Flames Stay Alive At Virginia Duals With Win Over The Citadel

Old Dominion dropped Liberty into the consolation bracket early after downing the Flames, 38-6, but Liberty stayed alive at the Virginia Duals after a come-from-behind win over The Citadel, Friday afternoon, at the Hampton Coliseum.

With the split in the first day's action at the Virginia Duals, Liberty raises its season dual record to 8-5 in the program's comeback tour.

The Flames opened the day against the Monarchs of Old Dominion, dropping a 38-6 decision to the in-state opponent. Old Dominion came into the event as one of the top programs at the Duals as the Monarchs last two recruiting classes have ranked in the Top 10 nationally. Liberty's lone victory in the match-up came by forfeit at 184 pounds with Chris Daggett picking up the six points.

Kyle Hutter opened the meeting with a 6-3 decision over Christian Smith at 125 pounds, followed by Christian Staylor blanking Zac McCray, 13-0, in a major decision at 133 pounds. Ryan Williams kept things rolling for Old Dominion with a 9-4 decision over Tim Harner at 141 pounds and Kaylen Baxter added the Monarchs' second win by major decision, 13-4, over Aaron Kelley at 149 pounds.

Liberty's Shaun Smith dropped a 5-1 decision to Chris Brown at 157 pounds and Nick Pullano followed with a 10-3 decision over Chad Porter at 165 pounds. Old Dominion picked up wins by fall in the next two matches as Derek Coffey pinned Jonathan Campbell, 5:53, at 174 pounds and David Mendoza pinned Rory Bosek, 1:19 at 197 pounds. Old Dominion rounded out the victory with a win by forfeit at heavyweight for Matt Pellar to seal the win and advance in the championship bracket.

The loss dropped the Flames into the consolation bracket where they were able to pick up a back-and-forth 24-21 win over The Citadel to stay alive in the event. Liberty won the first two weight classes, starting with a 6-4 win by Christian Smith over Tyler Sim at 125 pounds. Sam Walters followed with a close 3-2 decision over Matthew Leach at 133 pounds and Tim Harner pinned Matt Bullwinkel, 1:56, at 141 pounds to give Liberty an early 12-0 edge in the match.

The Citadel closed the gap over the next two weight classes as Levi Duyn won by fall, 3:59 over Aaron Kelley at 149 pounds, followed by Travis Piccard's 2-0 decision win over Shaun Smith at 149 pounds, to narrow Liberty's lead to three points, 12-9. Piccard entered the season ranked as high as eighth nationally in the NWCA preseason polls.

Chad Porter gave the Flames some breathing room as he pinned Zachary Filter, 4:35, at 165 pounds, but the Bulldogs came charging back to take their first lead, 21-18, after Darius Caldwell picked up a win by fall over Jonathan Campbell, 2:12, at 174 pounds. Prior to the match, the Flames' Chris Daggett was injured during the warm up session and was unable to wrestle, forcing the Flames to forfeit at 184 pounds.

Josh Moore, a spring semester transfer, opened his Liberty career in grand fashion with a 10-5 decision win over Griffen Green at 197 pounds to even the overall match at 21-21, and Patrick Walker sealed the victory, 24-21, with a 5-0 decision over John Buck at heavyweight.

The victory over The Citadel helped the Flames advance to tomorrow's continued consolation round action as Liberty squares off against Arizona State in the second day of the Virginia Duals.